Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Oct 14 2014 Jodha Akbar | New Promo - Akbar's Emancipation.?.

Oct 14 2014 Jodha Akbar | New Promo

Is it Akbar's Emancipation - The End of Petticoat Government .?.

| ...My Thoughts... |

Hi Friends,Here are my thoughts on the New Promo of Jodha Akbar which aired recently, last night. The Promo shows that after the demise of twins, Jalal has decided to return to his Old Self, i.e., the OLD ruthless warrior who ruled by sheer brute of force..!!According to me, this "change" was bound to happen in Jalal. I have been writing about this in many posts/comments of mine, and was expecting this. I feel that this change is on similar lines.

If we see the timeline, then we notice that Akbar's twins died died in 1564. Along/After this, the "actual expansion" of the Empire with the effective participation of Akbar took place. This was the time where his army fought many wars in Rajputana, East Hindustan, etc.

I wish to tell my readers that, the time till 1564, was said to be the, "Petticoat Government Period of Akbar". Abu'l Fazl has mentioned that during this period Akbar stayed put "Behind the Veil". He did not completely act according to his own will during his time, but there were sporadic incidents when he used to deal independently..During the period of Petticoat Government, many senior ladies of the harem had significant power in their hands, and Jalal was engaged in Agra, mostly. Especially till 1562, his activities revolved largely around the sporting and hunting pleasures, less on the empire administration. Maham Anga wielded considerable influence over Jalal and controlled the administration to a large extent. Such was the influence of the ladies that they literally controlled Akbar on many matters of policy making. Often, many offenders who enjoyed the protection of these ladies, went away free due to their influence on Akbar. The case of Adham Khan is well known in this regard.

After the death of Maham Anga in 1562, the hold on Akbar was loosened, but still there were others who controlled him. Among them, Akbar's mother, Hamida Bano Begum was also present. I am mentioning the case of Hamida Bano Begum due to a special reason. In the episode, aired yesterday, it was shown that Jalal crossed Yamuna with a select group of his close aides, and got a minor wound on the forehead in the process. The reasons were not given to us in the episode. But after watching the Promo and Episode, i concluded something, as it brought some history to my mind. Read On and you will understand..

But, in 1564, he stabbed and brutally murdered his wife, Zahra, in such an atrocious and degrading manner that it is not possible to be mentioned here. Zahra was the daughter of another influential lady, Bibi Fatima, who was held in high regard by Akbar, as she was a respected figure in his father's harem. Fatima, somehow knew the intentions of Muazzam and informed Akbar about it and appealed for safety of her daughter. On her request, Akbar personally "crossed Yamuna"riverwith a small body of close aides, amounting to 20, to find out the status of Khwaja Muazzam and Zahra. But, by the time he reached there, Muazzam had already murdered Zahra, and when asked by Akbar to surrender, he hurled abuses and his followers attacked Akbar and his aides. Muazzam was caught, brutally beaten, and thrown into the river Yamuna as a death punishment, but he escaped, and was then put into the Prison of Gwalior Fort, where he died later.. I will put up a detailed post on this incident soon.

Here, i mentioned this incident in brief, due to 2 reasons:

1. The episode yesterday, had shown Akbar crossing Yamuna, hence i thought of sharing this event. This may not be related to the show, or shown in it, but you can read this FYI, this may add to your knowledge.

2. This incident marked the "End of the Petticoat Government", as Akbar DEFIED his Mother here, and the New Promo also signals the End of Petticoat Government, as Akbar asserts his OLD Self and seems eager to be going out on an Empire expanding spree.

Note:1.Mirza Qasim was also executed "in private" in the prison of Gwalior Fort.2. This Post is my own interpretation of the Promo. I could not think of a better interpretation, as my mind runs towards history for ALL answers..!!!!. Rest is upto the Creatives of Jodha Akbar.3. We are also witnessing the Maharana Pratap-Udai Singh-Akbar track being built up. This is a precursor and built up to the rise in tensions, ultimately culminating into the Chittor War. This also leads me to think that, the Promo is an indication of something similar.You are welcome to share your thoughts on this Promo.

37 comments:

Thanks abhay for providing us with this diferent take on promo .I would like them to show this like you said rather than showing its a te way to catch criminals.I could never accept that te as its highly insensitive and illogical.

Abhay its a very precious information, thanks a lot. Abhay, is it time now Fatima girl coming, after yesterday episode, i came this thought.she will not survive, then maybee Akbar think, shift fathpur sikiri.

Abhay wonderful blog��I wil go thru all ur posts... Wen yday promo came I thight same regarding chittor massacre.awwsme analysis of promo n wat u said may become true that now heartless jalal wil capture rajputana n chittor war wil happen that's y I guess mp us were shown to us previous week.i hope this heartless jalal is for his relatives who backstabbered him lik qasim sharif zeenat abulmali ruk... Wishing akbar a very happy birthday��hope I'm right today is his bday..

Thank u Abhay, fr that info, which otherwise we would not hv known. As fr Akbar's anger, I think it's very natural reaction. In real life also we tend to lose hope n faith in God when we see injustice done to good people. Jodha is also angry with her kanha. Akbar will vent out his anger in the war, then get calmer only after the birth of daughter.But history- geek, how n why the death of Fatima takes place?Was that natural? Do u also believe in Maham Anga's curse? I think, the death of infants, n curse of Maham r purely co indincidence. Akbar's own past karma had caught up with him. Everything was put in to order only after he surrendered himself to Saint Salim Chisti.

See, if we think in reality, then we have the case of Akbar and MUZ going to the Salim Chisti Dargah in Sikri, just after the demise of twins. This shows that the belief in God was very much present in the heart of both the individuals. Though, momentarily we may keep some hard feelings. You are right. Jalal and Jodha are in same boat right now.

I am not aware of the details about the death of Fatima. The name of this daughter was itself very tough to get. Also, i too, do NOT give any credence to the curse of Maham Anga. That is a fictional aspect raised by the CV's for the drama quotient.

You have rightly pointed out that it was the result of one's Karma and Akbar found the emancipation from this "spell of destiny" after the blessings of the Sufi Saint Sheikh Salim Chisti. :)

thanks a lot Abhay...so it seems CVs r willing to show the empire expansion of Akbar..many assumed they will skip it as Ekta made Akbar very positive..I am happy if they r going in that direction..coz like u said it was crucial stage of his life..so CVs should not skip it..and promo se I too felt he is going back to his ruthless-self to show his wrath to his enemies...to those who mess with him and try to harm his family n Saltanat..like u always said u want see his authoritative/strong persona again.

1. None of the history texts (formal) mention Jodhabai as MUZ. Is there a specific reason to it? Even Jahangirnama doesn't, even though it is said that Jahangir had much affection for this mother.

2. Your current piece makes me go back to the serial where Maham Anga was crying hoarse that her issue with Akbar was that he was unduly affected and influenced by his ladies. Do you think there is a truth in this?3. Is it not true that Salim was born in Fatehpur Sikri so why do you say that the shift of residence took place after his birth?

Abhay -- A big thanks for sharing some valuable info regarding Khwaja Muazzam and his wife Zahra and the connection of Akbar crossing Yamuna river with his selected close aides:). ....... Ruthless emperor back as per new promo.....I don't know what to make out of this new promo, as it has not clearly hinted at the end of this track still :-?.........Is the promo an indirect indication that the culprit/s (though closely related) wont be spared????

Hmmm interesting info Abhay. I never knew that this was how the petticoat govt ended. Please give us more info on how Qasim and his wife Zeenat were caught and put to death in real history... was it in anyway connected to the twins death as shown in the show... I doubt. Unfortunate that so many relatives of Akbar were so ruthless and had to be put to death by the Emperor himself.

I hope this Sharifuddin and Sujamal track is brought to light too..isnt' it time..?!

You have mentioned that Akbar was "emancipated" from women's "influence" in 1564 (approx). But in reality, women like Hamida Bano, Salima, MUZ continued to influence him in various ways throughout his life. Yeah, I agree, they were more in a supporting role and Akbar was the dominant decision-maker. Whereas in the early years, he was king only in name while Maham Anga and other ladies (?) ruled on his behalf.

I feel, as you do, that the ruthless persona is only for the world at large, not for his family.

Another thing is that the ruthless avatar went hand-in-hand with his spiritual development too. In the same period when he was expanding his empire, he was also progressing spiritually and undertook pilgrimages to Sikri and Ajmer. He sought divine blessings and received 3 sons.

I would say that Akbar was a very complex character who cannot be straitjacketed into one stereotype - that Akbar was like this. Akbar was a lot of personalities mixed up into a complex enigma. He was intellectual, spiritual, physically powerful and ruthless, both emotional (with family and close associates ) and non-emotional (with enemies). Patron of arts. Expansionist. Someone with vision and foresight.

I doubt Ekta will be able to capture all the nuances of Akbar in her show. :(

""I would say that Akbar was a very complex character who cannot be straitjacketed into one stereotype - that Akbar was like this. Akbar was a lot of personalities mixed up into a complex enigma. He was intellectual, spiritual, physically powerful and ruthless, both emotional (with family and close associates ) and non-emotional (with enemies). Patron of arts. Expansionist. Someone with vision and foresight.

I personally feel that Jalal may be turning away from God just like Jodha, in the same way in which a petulant child turns away from its parents if they take away something precious to it.

This is very essential at this stage - the turning away from God in anger, the questioning after a certain cooling period, the search for solutions, acceptance of God and finally the complete surrender to God's decree.

Why I feel this way is because the stage of devotion at which JJ were before the twins died was the normal "puja kar li, namaz pad liya, ho gaya" types (in my opinion). There was very little, if any, spiritualism and a complete dissolution of one's self (including ego) into the Supreme God. To reach that stage, a person is put thru "fire" and made to first accept that he is nothing before God. Then he is made aware that he can get bliss only when he accepts God. He may question God but ultimately dissolves into nothingness (ending the concept of a distinct self that is separate from God) within the Almighty.

We will most likely NOT see the entire journey from this stage of anger against God to the final complete surrender, leading to the birth of a spiritual JA. But even if I get glimpses of this journey, I will be happy.

The promo as such is not scary. It is a symbolic scene that shows Jalal's utter despair and how he temporarily returns to a more ruthless form, devoid of fine sentiments that he feels are not in his destiny. It does NOT in any way indicate the nature of his future relationship with Jodha.

After all, right now, Jodha is the only one he trusts completely and upon whom he depends (emotionally) totally. The length to which he went to assuage her grief and replace Hasan with Hussein in her life so that she should smile once again is amazing. Would he now distance himself from her when she would be plunged to greater depths of melancholy? Not likely.

He may turn cold and ruthless to the world but his personal equation with Jodha would not change. This is my opinion.

Thank you for the interesting information about the 'petticoat government' Abhay . I actually want the 'jallad' Jalal to be back. This 'side' of him will enable him to make sensible decisions in punishing both Zeenat and Rukaiya . I do not foresee any misunderstanding between Jodha and him . Both of them may go through the temporary phase of questioning the existence of God which is quite natural under the circumstances. They will gravitate towards each other for strength to overcome the grief of losing their first borns.This bond will not only help them heal but will also enable them to grow and face tougher situations in life .

Nice thoughts..And, as i said to Radhika above same goes here also. The makers had a golden chance to bring Jodha Akbar close on spiritual lines, but they messed and destroyed this bonding, by sacrificing history. And introduced their typical daily soaps theory into play. : (

I learn something new after reading your posts abhay,thank you for that,I really wish cvs will show this and I believe they do have to go for little NR hence the promo . I just have one question here did Akbar took jodha with him on these occasions ?

Hi Abhay I also read about the end of petticoat government lesser influence of the harem ladies after MA's death the wars empire expansions and the unrests both in his durbar and other kingdoms under him very interesting information ...sunram

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